Mexican food for the road, and Mona Lisa Revealed

We weren't exactly late getting out of town, but things kept cropping up. I took my time packing pounds and pounds of stuff because we'll probably be in Bend for a couple of weeks, and I wanted to bring projects to sort, clean up, and work on. We had tickets for 7:00 to a slide lecture in Portland on Secrets of the Mona Lisa. Here's a photo from where we're stopping for a late lunch on the way out of Astoria. I had a quesadilla con pollo, and it was SO good. It's just on the west end of Marine Drive before you get to the traffic circle. See the speakers down by the tire? I didn't take more photos because it was just cold and I wasn't in the mood. There were some by the front tire, too. It was nice to have music and covered tables. Rap is not my music choice, but it wasn't too bad. I could have handled Mariachi or rock, or even Beethoven; that would have been a bonus. We were not there long. We were waiting for the Pathfinder to get its oil changed, then Lee noticed that he could get fresh razor clams next door to take along, so we carried our paper plates to the made-over gas station that sells seafood. It was actually a relief because I could eat of the of wind. When Lee was finished talking to Ron and getting clams, we headed back to the place where the oil was being changed. I wasn't done eating, so my plate and I moved again. The guy who changed the oil noticed that a tire was low (again), so the next stop was Les Schwab. They were fast, and soon we were . . . not quite out of there, but stopping at Fred Meyer to get a cooler for the clams on ice. THEN we were out of there and en route to Portland on Highway 26.

The presentation on the Mona Lisa was fascinating. It was free, and surprisingly poorly attended. Of course, it was my first attendance at an Omsi lecture, so maybe that's typical. I'm encouraged to see the whole show when it goes up. I will say it was a bit hard to understand, partly because of Pascal Cotte's heavy French accent, and sometimes his voice wasn't loud enough, but we had good 3rd-row seats. He was engaging, personable, incredibly smart and curious, answered questions from the audience, and had a good visual presentation. He had a fascinating topic and had done extensive research that was almost hard to imagine in its intricacy and its duration through time. I won't go into it here. You can read more about it online. Look for "25 Secrets of the Mona Lisa Revealed."

Oct 16, Part 13 - Paris: The Louvre, Looking for Mona Lisa

As I said in an earlier post, when I got tired from walking long distances and standing, I began to see and appreciate the richly decorated rooms in the Louvre almost as much as the art collection. Each room had its own decor and theme to go with the art it displayed.

I love the floors and columns here.

We were on a mission to find Mona, and since she's the most sought-out exhibit, the powers that be gave us a little help.

More beautiful celings, friezes, and arches.

We passed a few Botticelli murals. I really like his work. I wonder if she knows she's holding a scorpion? There must be story here, somewhere.

And yet more ceilings and friezes. Are we still en route to the Mona Lisa?

I love this floor. Old, worn hardwood with black stars in it.

I also really love this bottom painting with portraits of prominent Florentines of the Renaissance. In the large version of the photo, I could see the print giving their names from the left as Giotto, Uccello, Donatello, Manetti, Brunelleschi. The painting is by Uccello. I like the simplicity and the sense that these are some of the real people that created that amazing time.

A candid portrait.

I'm trying not to put in so many shots of the same thing, but like the portrait above as well as this corridor photo of people studying Renaissance paintings in the Louvre, or at least looking at them, perhaps with eyes so full that they no longer comprehend much of what they're seeing. It's not too difficult to reach overload.

Well, here we are, and everyone wakes up. That's Lee looking at the Mona Lisa - finally - after many days of wondering what she'd be like. It had been quite a number of years since he'd seen the famous painting. This photo was taken in October. I don't want to imagine what the room looks like in high tourist season.

And . . . here she is. I don't know what to say about a person who thinks the Mona Lisa is a "nice" painting, but that's how I feel. I can think of many others that I find more exciting and memorable, even after attending a slide lecture by a many who has had a lifetime fascination with this work and who has spent thousands of dollars and technical hours to find and bring out her true coloring and some of the secrets hidden in the painting, such as how Leonardo changed the dress and positioning from the original. That was interesting, but it didn't make Mona my favorite painting. So I was a revelation to me when, after studying her for a short time, Lee commented that he now understood what the big deal was. This was simply the most satisfying painting he'd ever laid eyes on. It was complete. He couldn't want anything else. Well, maybe there's something to that. It gave me new respect for the lady.

A nice clear view (and photo) of Mona is not always easy to get. More often the view looks like this (above) . . .

Or like this . . . (FLASH!)

And this is what Mona sees looking back from her canvas.

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